1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer device which is suitable for use in transferring a patient between a bed and a stretcher with wheels (gurney), for example. The transfer device according to the present invention is also suitable for changing the location of e.g. a piece of wooden furniture without damaging it.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a hospital, nursing facility or the like, a stretcher is used for transporting a patient who cannot walk or has difficulty in walking from a hospital room to an examination room, a treatment room or a bath, for example. Such a stretcher comprises a rest base having a width and a length sufficient for carrying a patient and supported by legs with wheels at a height generally equal to a bed surface. To transfer the patient between the bed and the stretcher, the stretcher is set alongside the bed.
The transfer of the patient is generally performed by lifting the sheets on which the patient lies by a plurality of nurses or care workers. Such work is hard, requiring many hands. Moreover, in transferring a patient with a medical instrument such as an intravenous drip device attached to the patient, the transfer work need be performed very carefully. Further, the work for transferring the patient while keeping the posture of the patient so as not to damage the affected part is very difficult and need be performed carefully.
Conventionally, to facilitate transfer of a patient, various transfer devices have been proposed which utilize motive power to transfer the patient.
For example, in Japanese patent document JP-B-47-34477, a transfer device is proposed in which a transfer mechanism comprising a lower endless conveyor belt and an upper endless conveyor belt is incorporated in a stretcher for advancement onto a bed and retreat onto the stretcher. In transferring a patient from the bed onto the stretcher, with the stretcher set alongside the bed, the lower endless conveyor belt is driven for travel in one direction, and the transfer mechanism is advanced onto the bed in synchronization with the belt travel speed of the lower endless conveyor belt. At this time, the upper endless conveyor belt is caused to travel in the direction opposite from the lower endless conveyor belt. As a result, the transfer mechanism can slip between the bed surface and the patient for placing the patient on the transfer mechanism (upper endless conveyor belt) without causing relative movement between the lower endless conveyor belt and bed surface and between the upper endless conveyor belt and the patient. Thereafter, with the upper endless conveyor belt stopped, the transfer mechanism is retreated onto the stretcher while the lower endless conveyor belt is caused to travel in the direction opposite from the above, whereby the patient can be transferred onto the stretcher.
For the conventional transfer device, however, the transfer mechanism is incorporated in the stretcher. Therefore, when the transfer mechanism retreats, the front edge constantly becomes parallel with the stretcher, and there is a limitation on the advance distance of the transfer mechanism, which gives rise to the following problems.
Firstly, a patient lying as inclined relative to an edge of the bed cannot be properly placed on the transfer mechanism. Specifically, a patient on a bed rarely lies in parallel with an edge of the bed and mostly lies as inclined. Further, depending on the medical condition, the posture of the patient may not be changed easily. In such a case, the transfer device disclosed in the above Patent Document lifts and place the patient obliquely, so that the posture of the patient on the transfer mechanism becomes unstable. Moreover, even on the stretcher, manual work for putting the patient within the width of the stretcher need be performed. As noted above, depending on the medical condition, such easy posture change of the patient may worsen the condition of the patient.
Secondly, a patient lying far from the edge of the bed by a distance larger than the width of the stretcher cannot be dealt with. This is because the transfer mechanism advancing from the stretcher set alongside the bed cannot reach the patient. Although a patient whose condition is not severe may be moved manually on the bed, the transfer device cannot deal with a patient who is in critical condition and whose posture cannot be changed easily.
Moreover, in the transfer device disclosed in the above Patent Document, the transfer mechanism comprising a lower endless conveyor belt and an upper endless conveyor belt vertically combined together is incorporated in the stretcher for advancing and retreating movements. Therefore, the entire apparatus is complicated, and the manufacturing cost is extremely high.